Car-wheel shifter



,(NO M 0de1.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 E. E. TAYLOR.

GAR WHEEL SHIPTBR.

No. 558,232, Patented A r. 21, 1896.

may

II Q

WITNESSES: 5Y1

- TT RNEY,

(No Model.) A

E. E. TAYLOR. 0 3 WHEEL SHIFTER.

2 Sheefgs-Sheet 2.

Patented Apr. 21, 1896.

WlTNEZbbEbz.

INVENT R:

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMERY E. TAYLOR, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

CAR-WHEEL SHIFTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 558,532, dated April21, 1896.

Application fil d September 16, 1395. Serial No. 562,652. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EMERY E. TAYLOR, a

citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Minneapolis,county of Hennepin, and State of Minnesota, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Car-Wheel Shifters, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to means for shifting car-wheels, and consequentlytheir journals, inward or outward.

The object of the invention is to provide a convenient device capable ofuse for moving car-wheels either inward or outward and so moving theirjournals correspondingly in the j ournal-boxes, a device that isespecially useful in replacing bearings or brasses. IVhen the brassbecomes Worn, its length is some times diminished owing to the frictiondue to the lateral movements of the journals while the cars are inservice, and so when new brasses are to be inserted it is oftendifficult to fit them properly on the journals because the journal iseither too near or too far from the outer end of the box. In the formercase the journal (and consequently the Wheels) must be pushed inward,and in the latter case outward, so that the brasses will not strike theshoulders of the journal before they are properly seated. So far as Iamaware the only means heretofore commonly employed for thus shiftingthe Wheel and its axle was a crowbar or some like tool, and suchoperation is difficult, inconvenient, and consumes considerable time,principally because the work must be done chiefly under the car, whereit is difficult to operate the tool.

In illustration of my improvements I have shown, in Figure 1, anelevation, partly sectional, of a portion of the framework of afreight-car, a wheel, axle, &c., and my improved wheel-shifting devicein position for moving the wheel outward; in Fig. 2, a similar viewshowing the device arranged to move the wheel inward; in Fig. 3, a sideelevation showing the journal-box, a portion of the wheel, and thearch-bars constituting a portion of the framework; and in Figs. 4 to 14,inclusive, various details of the shifting device itself, to behereinafter fully described.

In such drawings, 1 designates a car-wheel 2, its axle; 3, itsjournal-box; and 4, the portion of framework of a freight-car commonlyknown as the arch-bar, to which the journal-box is attached.

My device for shifting the wheel and its journal (usually after thejournal-box has been raised) consists of a bar 5, having a hook 6 at oneend and screw-threads 7 at the other end. On the threaded end is a nut8, and on a rounded portion next to the threaded end is a loose sleeve9, having a shoulder 10, facing the hook, and a lug or rib 11 at itsopposite or outer end. A loose nut 12, having an opening large enough toallow it to be passed over the nut 8, is placed loosely on the outerportion of the sleeve 9 and has a notch 13, within which the rib 11engages so as to lock the nut on the sleeve, and this loose nut iscapable of movement to a limited extent lengthwise of the sleeve; and onthe bar 5 there may be provided a fixed nut or angular enlargement 14,adapted to be engaged by a wrench. The device thus constructed iscapable of use for moving the car-wheel and its axle either inward oroutward, dependent upon the manner in which the device is applied to thewheel and arch-bar.

In using the device to move a wheel outward it is applied as indicatedin Figs. 1, 3, and 13that is, the hook is made to engage the flange ofthe Wheel and the shoulder 10 of the sleeve to engage the outside of thearchbar 4, and the loose nut 12 is moved inward to the positionindicated in Figs. 1 and 13 to free it from engagement with the nut 8,and the latter may then be turned (by a wrench or other means) and byits engagement with the end of the sleeve, the sleeve being held againstthe fixed frame and the hook connected to the movable wheel, the turningwill serve to pull the wheel outward, as is obvious.

To move the wheel inward the device reportion in the nut 8, so as tomove the wheel inward. Thus the one simple device may be utilized forthe alternate purposes of readily moving journals inward or outward toexpedite the changing of brasses or for any other purpose for which suchmovement may be desired, and its usefulness is chiefly in connectionwith cars that are in service and for the purpose of replacing brassesin cases where there are hot boxes, or when for any other reason it isdesired to shift the journals of car-axles in their boxes while the carsare on the track.

Having described my invention, what claim is- 1. A car-wheel shiftercomprising a bar having one end hooked and the other screwthreaded, athreaded nut on the latter, a sleeve intermediate the ends providing ashoulder, and a slidable nut adapted to engage either or both thethreaded nut and the sleeve to hold them in locked or unlockedrelationship, substantially as set forth.

2. A shifter for moving a car-wheel and its journal outward, consistingof a bar having a hook for engaging the wheel, an adjustable memberhaving a shoulder for engaging a portion of the car-frame, ascrew-threaded outer end anda nut thereon for engaging such adjustablemember to pull the wheel outward, substantially as set forth.

3. A shifter for moving a car-wheel and its journal inward, consistingof a bar having a threaded end and a nut thereon, an adjustable sleeveprovided with a shoulder for engaging a portion of the car-frame whilethe threaded end engages the wheel, and a looking device for lockingsaid nut and sleeve, whereby the wheel maybe moved inward by the turningof the bar, substantially as set forth.

EMERY E. TAYLOR.

\Vitnesses: R. BLUME, P. II. GUNoKEL.

